[B&R] Mystical Tutor banned / Illusionary Mask and Grim Monolith unbanned

[Aggro_zombies]

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...ly/feature/95b

EDIT: That's Mystical Tutor banned, for those interested.

EDIT: Something interesting from the explanation article:

The long term plan is to make the new Extended format more popular than the current Extended. What I would like to see is this format become more widely played than Legacy. Legacy is a great format and I love playing it but the fact is that Legacy has its limits. There are only so many dual lands out there. Pro Tour–Amsterdam will be the new Extended format's real unveiling. It will also be one of the formats for Worlds. Then there will be a qualifer season with it next spring. The January-April 2011 PTQ season which feeds the second PT of 2011 will use this format.

Sounds like high-level support for the format may be withering in the near future.

[dyzzy]

I was just about to post this too.

[Mark Sun]

Just saw this in the arcana as well.

Wow, that's rough.

[Aggro_zombies]

I cannot even begin to think of how incredibly awful this will be if combo is as nerfed as it looks. Like, what other options do you have?

EDIT: Also, lol @ Extended getting totally destroyed. Four years worth of sets? This sounds less like Extended and more like Big Standard to me.

[Mark Sun]

I cannot even begin to think of how incredibly awful this will be if combo is as nerfed as it looks. Like, what other options do you have?

I don't think it wouldn't be completely nerfed, but it would take a huge hit in consistency and the explosiveness of any build. The two immediate potential replacements I could think of are Personal Tutor and Merchant Scroll; that said, they're terrible by themselves and do only half of what Mystical Tutor could do at Sorcery speed. Yikes.

[Jaynel]

Uh, what? This doesn't make much sense at all.

Edit: Illusionary Mask + Fathom Seer!?

[menace13]

OMG ... I just finished watching the NBA finals and ...... wow.....

BANNED?????? WotC has lost it, they are out their fukin titz!

[Pastorofmuppets]

A couple of questions on what will happen to card prices:
Will Dark Depths hold up along with shocklands and Goyf until Overextended starts?
Should I start buying Grim Monolith?
Also, it's really not the end of the world if Tutor is dead, you just need to look into running more draw. What IS dead, however, is ANKH. Fuckin' Wizards.

Also, wtf@Illusionary Mask

EDIT: Just bought a Monolith for $7 from T&T. Feels good, man.

[Aggro_zombies]

I don't think it wouldn't be completely nerfed, but it would take a huge hit in consistency and the explosiveness of any build. The two immediate potential replacements I could think of are Personal Tutor and Merchant Scroll; that said, they're terrible by themselves and do only half of what Mystical Tutor could do at Sorcery speed. Yikes.

Well, ANT basically just ceased to exist as a relevant deck. Combo is basically a total dog to blue now that it loses one of its most important setup pieces.

Why did they do this? Combo consistently underperforms, the problem card in Reanimator is Entomb, and basically all of the other strategies using Mystical are fine. The last two SCG 5ks have been dominated by Zoo, which isn't even blue - so we nerf one of the two decks Zoo isn't so hot against? What?

The format was perfectly healthy, and Reanimator's poor showing of late seems to indicate the format is adapting to it. And now it looks like we're in for some Vintage-style loving.

Maybe there shouldn't have been all those articles about fixing the B&R lists...it seems Wizards loves to be hamfisted when it comes to managing them.

But seriously, why? Why?!

[menace13]

Well, ANT basically just ceased to exist as a relevant deck. Combo is basically a total dog to blue now that it loses one of its most important setup pieces.

Why did they do this? Combo consistently underperforms, the problem card in Reanimator is Entomb, and basically all of the other strategies using Mystical are fine. The last two SCG 5ks have been dominated by Zoo, which isn't even blue - so we nerf one of the two decks Zoo isn't so hot against? What?

The format was perfectly healthy, and Reanimator's poor showing of late seems to indicate the format is adapting to it. And now it looks like we're in for some Vintage-style loving.

Maybe there shouldn't have been all those articles about fixing the B&R lists...it seems Wizards loves to be hamfisted when it comes to managing them.

But seriously, why? Why?!

Because no one over at WotC is actually good at the game or even plays it competitively, or even pays attention to results and are slightly ghay??

[majikal]

LMAO, Extended is fucked. Looks like that Overextended rumor might be true after all!

Edit: Grim Monolith is exciting! I'm glad I've got 8 already!

[Artowis]

Sell all your Tarmogoyfs now and rebuy when the price drops dramatically now that everybody keeping them for Extended season has 0 reason to keep them.

[Pastorofmuppets]

Sell all your Tarmogoyfs now and rebuy when the price drops dramatically now that everybody keeping them for Extended season has 0 reason to keep them.

If only I had $60 to pay for Goyfs. I'd say Depths would be the one to stock up on, since it's got no presence in Legacy, and will probably shoot back up if overextended comes out.

[Bardo]

Because no one over at WotC is actually good at the game or even plays it competitively, or even pays attention to results and are slightly ghay??

This is just ill-informed.

On the changes: ambivalent. If not for the errata on Dreadnought, the cost of Masks would probably be through the roof though.

[majikal]

I'm not sure how I feel about Mask. On the one hand, it kind of sucks now. On the other hand, how many matches will go into extra time because the judge had to explain the Oracle wording?

[Ozymandias]

Well, I guess my underground sea is going to drop quite a bit :(

Also, anyone else looking forward to Ancient tomb->monolith->3sphere? Mud might be a real deck now, and I for one am elated.

[Rune]

Not very surprising to me. WotC generally seems to be against strategies that don't involve beating down with creatures.

[Mark Sun]

Sell all your Tarmogoyfs now and rebuy when the price drops dramatically now that everybody keeping them for Extended season has 0 reason to keep them.

Wouldn't they have more reason now that two top tier decks just got demolished in one night?


@ Aggro_zombies: Oh, trust me, I think it's absoluely stupid. You're right, we just had a discussion after the last couple of 5K's in sarcasm about Reanimator's "warping of the format." There was no reason to do something like this, and I'm curious to hear the reasoning behind it. Combo will still survive somehow, though. Until then, I need to retool my sideboard(s) to deal with aggro.


Anyhow, I just bought a playset of Grim Monoliths, seems like the right thing to do. Whoever is fighting with me on eBay to snipe the lowest priced ones, I'm done now



Edit:

Not very surprising to me. WotC generally seems to be against strategies that don't involve beating down with creatures.

If they fucking pull their shitty ass "this is what market research shows" garbage with Legacy, I'm walking to WotC headquarters and knocking on some doors. And by knocking, I mean breaking. And by doors, I mean kneecaps.


Edit #2:
Wow, just realized I had a minor flip-out there. Still breaking kneecaps.

[xTrainx]

Combo just died. And I have no money to buy shit before price spikes/drops. Time to put my Tutors on eBay really fast.

And I wish I had some Goyfs to sell; then to rebuy.

I'm predicting a drop as they rotate out, and then a increase(but lower overall) once again because creatures will become more relevant without combo in the picture.

[heroicraptor]

The problem card in combo was most definitely Ad Nauseam, not Mystical Tutor. GG Wiztards.